All That Jazz

I remember hearing John Coltrane and being knocked out. There were all those insanely woven sax notes smacking me around and not stopping even after I was lying on the floor and moaning. I didn't stop to ask myself or try to figure out why I was so taken, I just let it be enough that the man did it for me.

Years later, checking out the Jazz miniseries on PBS, I watched Wynton Marsalis speak about the music and I couldn't help grinning from ear to ear. The man was absolutely beautiful in his love for it, just life affirming. And I realized something while I watched and listened, something I felt like I should have known all the time; that life is jazz.

I know it to be true, and it's not my job to convince anyone or push my point of view. And while I don't want to explain away the magic of this simple statement, I want to point something out. Most jazz compositions start with the basic tune of the piece, move into the band's trading off of solos and improvised pieces, only to be resolved once again with the main tune (however brief).

This echoes life in that we are born and we improvise our way through life only to be resolved in the end.

The point is, it's what you do between those recognizable bits at the beginning and end that make the world interesting. There are people that are happy to tread obvious ground, and I certainly have no place to mock, the world needs Kenny G's. But I would like to live my life like a Coltrane solo - one of those pieces where you stand agog thinking, "where the fuck is he going?" before dropping back in with the group only take off again on rusty and stellar wings. I hope to look back at the end fulfilled by the joy and the grief and the love of friends. I hope to look back at the end and think, "yeah, not too bad."

Here’s hoping…